Callide dam release 'concerning': Qld govt

The operator of a dam that let out automatic releases and triggered frantic evacuations during Cyclone Marcia says it was trying to deal with a "one-in-10,000-year" burst of rainfall.

Former Queensland Fire Service deputy commissioner Iain MacKenzie is likely to review the operation of the Callide Dam that swiftly rose to 90 per cent capacity as the category five cyclone was pounding central Queensland on Friday.

After the automatic floodgates opened, a two-metre-high wall of water then broke the banks of Callide Creek and swept through Biloela, Jambin and Goovigen late that night - destroying homes and businesses, killing livestock and flattening crops.

Many locals are upset because the operator, Sunwater, didn't release water before the storm hit and there was a lack of warning before the dam gates opened.

Mr MacKenzie, appointed Queensland's Inspector General of Emergency Management in 2013 after seven years as the QFS deputy commissioner, is expected to be appointed to lead an independent review.

"What I want to see, following the floods back in 2013, what were the recommendations from that report and did Sunwater follow those recommendations," she said in Yeppoon on Tuesday.

"I don't want to pre-judge. We need to do a thorough investigation but I'm determined to get to the bottom of it."

Sunwater has defended its handling of the disaster, saying the dam level rose seven meters in three hours during the "one-in-10,000-year" rain.

A spokeswoman told AAP the dam was not for flood mitigation but water storage.

The company has argued it was otherwise unable to release water without extensive community and customer consultation, and even if staff had permission to manually release water, the cyclonic conditions made it impossible to access the site.

The insurance bill left in the wake of Marcia has climbed to $53.4 million with almost 9000 claims lodged by Tuesday, the Insurance Council of Australia says.

The figure has risen more than $20 million since Monday and is expected to continue its steep incline.

More than 40,000 properties still have no power.

Ergon Energy's proposed restoration time frame for all customers is by Tuesday March 3, meaning some residents will have spent 10 days in the dark.

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg, who also toured Rockhampton and Yeppoon on Tuesday, said years of disaster experience and planning had prepared emergency services and all levels of government for the recovery stage.

"With good systems and good structures and good government support, things go very well," he told AAP.

"As previous government have, this government's done a pretty good job."